#1 Internet Tip ............ "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
Use Anti-Virus software
Use webmail that has built in AV, scanning and spam filtering:
Do not click on emails that you do not know the person:
If you are in doubt whether a merchant is legitimate or not, Google around a little on the internet. See if customers have complained. See if they have a customer service contact number. A lot of complaints, or a merchant who leaves you with no way to contact them except by email, can be a red flag for fraud.
Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) email.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited email.
Be cautious of email claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders
Avoid filling out forms contained in email messages that ask for personal information
.
Always compare the link in the email with the link to which you are directed and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
Log directly onto the official web site for the business identified in the email, instead of "linking" to it from an unsolicited email.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the email to verify if the email is genuine.
If you are asked to act quickly, or there is an emergency, it may be a scam. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.
Verify any requests for personal information from any business or financial institution by contacting them using the main contact information.
A seller on an auction site has 100 percent positive ratings, based on just a few ratings that were all posted around the same time.
A classified ad or auction site is selling gift cards. (The only way you can make sure a gift card is legitimate is to buy it directly from a merchant.)
You get an email purporting to be from an online payment vendor asking you to re-enter your payment information by following a link.
Fraudsters posing as legitimate delivery services offer reduced or free shipping to customers through auction sites. They perpetuate this scam by providing fake shipping labels to the victim.
